Fill wire inserting means



Dec. 8, 1964 G. E. MECKLEY 3,160,178

I FILL WIRE INSERTING MEANS Filed June 26, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTOR GEORGE EMECKLEY BY wH-W ATTORNEY Dec. 8, 1964 G. E. MECKLEY3,160,178

' FILL WIRE INSERTING MEANS Filed June 26, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 4INVENTOR GEORGE E.MECKLEY 1964 G. E. MECKLEY 3,160,178

FILL WIRE INSERTING MEANS Filed June 26, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

GEORGE E. MECKLEY @LMHW G. E. MECKLEY FILL WIRE INSERTING MEANS Dec. 8,1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 26, 1962 INVENT OR GEORGE E. MECKLEYDec. 1964 G. E. MECKLEY FILL WIRE INSERTING MEANS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledJune 26, 1962 INVENTOR .sEoReE EMECKLEY ATTORNEY 3,169,178 Patented Dec.8, 1964 ice 3,160,178 FlLL WERE ENSERTENG MEANS George E. Mecldey,Abhottstown, Pa, assignor to Hanover Tool ompany, inc, Fanover, Pa, acorporation of Pennsylvania Filed June 26, 1962, Ser. No. 295,329 3Claims. (Cl. 139127) This invention relates to wire feeding mechanismsand, more particularly, to an intermittent drive for feedingpredetermined lengths of weft or fill wire across a loom for weavingwire screen.

In wire screen looms of the type for which the subject fill wire feederis adapted, a shed, formed by the warp Wires, is successively opened inone direction, closed, and opened in the opposite direction by theheddles. In contrast to the type of loom wherein the weft is formed by acontinuous fill wire woven back and forth through the successivelyopened sheds by a shuttle, the fill wire, which is drawn from a supplyreel, is passed through the shed each time it opens and is then cut sothat its respective ends project slightly beyond the outside warp wires.The projecting ends of the fill Wires are then turned back andinterwoven between the outer two warp wires by a tucker. The warptake-up then advances and a succeeding length of fill wire is again fedthrough the next succeeding she-d. In order to guide the fill Wire as itpasses through the open shed, comb-like guide fingers are projectedupwardly so as to interdigitate between alternate pairs of'the warpwires which, at that time, constitute the lower portion of the shed.Looms of this general type have been used for many years for weavingfence wire and screens of large mesh. However, in the prior art looms,high speed and extreme accuracy in timing Were not of the essence, norwas'provision made for quick change in the Width of the weave. The loomfor which the subject fill wire feeder is intended is designed for aboutthree hundred picks per minute. Keeping in mind that the fill wirefeeder must shoot out as much as a thirty-six inch length of fill Wirefive times per second, and taking into account that the terminalportions of each one-fifth second interval are not available forprojection of the fill wire, the allocatable interval during which thefill wire-driving mechanism must start, do its work, and then come .to acomplete stop is of extremely short duration. To meet these requirementsalone, it is apparent that the fill wire drive must be sub stantiallydevoid of backlash, and the masses of the parts which do the startingand stopping must be held to the minimum to reduce inertia and momentum.One of the objects of the invention is to meet the foregoingrequirements. Y

A further object is to provide a fill wire feeder wherein the length ofthe Wire, which is intermittently fed thereby, can be easily adjusted toextremely accurate dimensions. In prior art wire screen looms, many timeconsuming changes in both the warp and the weft handling mechanism wererequired so that, as a practical matter, weavewidth changes were seldommade. However, in the loom for which the present feeder is designed,certain improvements in which are disclosed in my co-pendingapplication, entitled Wire Guide and Tuckers for Wire Cloth Looms,Serial No. 247,047, filed December 26, 1962, the width of the weave isquickly adjustable, with but m nor changes, to meet customer demands forshort runs of various widths, such as 29 /2" or 22%", instead of astandard 3.6" width. Consequently, in the drive-length determiningmechanism, wherein change-speed gears similar to those on a lathe couldpreviously be used for varying, in fairly closely spaced steps, thelength of the fill Wire to be fed for each pick, it is now intended toprovide a continuously variable mechanism so that the length of fillwire feed, as measured in degrees of drive wheel turning, can beselectively and quickly predetermined to any desired length with nearlyzero tolerances.

These and other objects will be apparent from the fol lowingspecification and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the fill wire feed mechanism showing theadjacent portion of the loom with the lower portion of the casingenclosing the drive mechanism removed, the removed parts being shown inFIG. 5;

FIG. 2 is an elevation of the rear side of the feed mechanism, showingthe back-up idler in cross-section;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-section approximately along the line 33 ofFIG. 5, with the drive wheel not shown, and with the lever 56 midway ofits working stroke;

FIG. 4 is a vertical fragmentary cross-section showing the drive wheeland magnetic brake;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the feed mechanism with the cover-plateremoved, showing lever 56 at the end of a working stroke; and,

FIG. 6 is an end elevation of the feed and cut-off mechanism as seenfrom the inboard side.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, in which likereference numerals denote similar elements, the

fill wire feeder 2 is mounted on the frame 4 of a wire screen loom 6. Inorder to place the invention in its environment, it will be understoodthat warp wires are supplied by creels and pass over various tensioningrolls, a whip roll and guides, none shown, to heddles 8 and 10. One setof warp wires is lifted by one heddle while the alternate set islowered, and then vice-versa, thereby opening, closing and reopening theshed. All the warp'wires pass through a reed 12 on a laybar. As the shedopens, guide fingers 14 project upwardly past the lower wires of theshed, it being sufiicient here to observe that each finger is in twoparts having opposed half-eyelets. When the fingers are together, theyform a closed eyelet which constitutes a guide for the fill wire whichtraverses the warp, and then the fingers open to free the cross-wovenfill wire from the guide eyelets.

The fill wire 16 is drawn through a tube 18 from a conventional supplyreel, not shown, by means of a drive wheel 20. Tube 18 is an infeedguide means. through which fill wire 16 is fed tangenitially againstdrive wheel 20. A back-up idler 22 is mounted on the end of a lever 24pivoted at 25 and biased by a compression spring 26 so that idler 22,unless held disengaged by a toggle lever 27 detailed below, holds. thefill wire tightly against the periphery of drive wheel 20.

Beyond drive wheel 20, the fill wire passes through a split tube 28consisting of upper and lower parts 28a and 28b, past aknife 31) andthence through the open shed, being guided by the series of eyeletsformed by guide fingers 14. Split tube 28 is an outfeed guide means forthe iill wire. When a predetermined length of wire has been fed by drivewheel 20 through the open shed, the two portions of each of the fingers14 separate to free the wire, the fingers retract diagonally downwardlyas the shed closes around the fill wire, knife 30 severs the fill wire,the guide fingers 14 retract as the laybar advances to beat the fillwire in and the warp take-up operates to advance the weave one step.Meanwhile, as one fill wire is fed across the warp, tuckers 32, one oneach side of the loom, bend and weave into the then open shed theprojecting ends of the previously fed fill wire. It is the feeding andcutting mechanisms 2 and 30 with which this application is directlyconcerned.

Referring particularly to the more detailed FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the drivemechanism for the fill wire feeder is enclosed in a casing 34 shown withthe top .36 removed in FIG. 5. A power input drive shaft 38, which isdriven by and rotates in synchronism with the main drive shaft for theother loom parts, is horizontally supported in the lower portion ofcasing 34 by bearings 40 and 42. A bevel a bevel gear 46 affixed on thelower end of a vertical shaft 48, the latter being supported in bearings50, 52. Affixed on the top end of vertical shaft 48 is a head plate 54which, as will soon be apparent, forms a part of the variable outputdrive.

A lever 56 of the third class having one end pivoted at 58 in casing 34extends across and above head plate 54, and on the under side of thelever is a slideway 6%. A block 62 slidingly engaging in slideway 60 isrotatably supported on a bearing post 64 projecting upwardly from aslide 66 engaged in groove 63 which extends diametrically across headplate 54. The radial distance of slide 66 from the axis of rotation ofhead plate 54 is adjusted by a lead screw 76, the head end of which isrotatably captive in the head plate as denoted at 72, and the threads 74of which engage in a threaded bore through slide 66 as denoted at 76. Iflead screw 70 is adjusted so that the axis of bearing 64 is coaxial withthe axis of shaft 4%, block 52 has zero angular velocity and hence lever56 does not awing when shaft 48 rotates. Maximum swing of lever 56 isobtained by adjusting lead screw 70 so that slide 66 is in its outermostradial position as illustrated in FIG. and, of course, the variousintermediate positions of illdB 66 result in corresponding angularmovements of ever 56. Cross head drives of the type thus far describedlave been used for oscillating motions of variable stroke ength, forexample, in the Hazelton Patent No. 1,599,174.

On the free end of lever 56 is a segment gear 78 which engages a pinion8t) aflixed, as at 82 to the base 33, i.e., he driving member, of aone-way clutch 84, one usable example of which is a Forrnsprag modelHPI-440. The lriven member of clutch 84 is a vertical shaft 86 rotatablyiupported in casing 34 by bearings 88, 90. A magnetic Jrake 92 afiixedon the casing engages the upper end of :haft 36 when energized by aconventional circuit 87 in- :luding a switch 89, which is closed by acam 91 on shaft 98 for about 270 of rotation of head plate 54. Startngfrom the condition shown in FIG. 3, wherein lever l6 has completed aboutone half of its driving stroke, ne-way clutch 84 is then turning in itsdriving direction, 1nd when brake 92 becomes energized, it exerts a dragin the drive train during the latter half of the driving :troke of lever56. Thus, any tendency of the drive train 0 over-run, followingcompletion of the driving stroke of ever 56 is overcome; when the drivestroke is completed, rake 92, being already energized, locks the drivetrain ?or drive wheel 20, and keeps it locked during the return :trokeof lever 56. After head plate 54 rotates counter- :lockwise 180 duringits return stroke from the posiion as seen in FIG. 5, the energizingcircuit 87 opens -.nd the brake releases shaft 86 for the first half ofthe :nsuing drive stroke of lever 56 in which drive through :lutch 84 isestablished. An output drive gear 94 affixed )n shaft 86 drives a pinion96 (PEG. 4) on avertical :haft 98 supported in bearings 100, 192. Fillwire drive vheel 20, being affixed on the upper end of shaft 98 ishereby unidirectionally rotated through one-way clutch 54 apredetermined number of degrees, depending upon he radial setting ofslide 66, with each working stroke )f lever 56. Upon completion of theworking stroke of he lever, magnetic brake 92, which therefore exerted a[rag instantaneously seizes shaft 86 thereby looking through gear 94 andpinion 96) shaft 98 and drive vheel until the next working stroke oflever 56. The lumber of degrees of rotation of drive wheel 26 determinesthe length of fill wire which is fed through split ube 28. One desirablecharacteristic of this drive mechlnisrn, in addition to its zerobacklash characteristics, is hat the instants of starting and stoppingof the fill wire emain the same with respect to the operating cycle ofthe 00m, regardless of the selected length of wire feed during achcycle, thus making it unnecessary to time the mechll'llSIIl each time afeed-length adjustment is made. Also, he magnetic brake, which exerts adrag on the drive rain during the latter portion of the working strokeof lever 56 and positively locks the fill wire drive wheel uponcompletion of the working stroke of lever 55 avoids any tendency of themechanism to over-run, chatter or play as the slide rotates through thedead center FIG. 5 position and the one 180 therefrom, and it alsoprevents any frictional drag-back through clutch 84 when lever 56 startson its return non-working'stroke.

Back-up idler 22 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 5) is rotatably supported by a bearing104 on the lower end of a stub post 196 which is supported on the end ofa mounting 108 on the free end of lever 24, the latter being pivoted at25 intermediate its ends. The compression of spring 26 is adjusted by ascrew plug 112 in the end of fixed arm 114, so that when thetoggle oflever 27 is broken, as in FIGS. 1 and 5, spring 26 forces back-up idler22 against drive wheel 26 so as to compress fill wire 16 tightlytherebetween, it being apparent that the return of toggle lever 2'7 willswing lever 24 clockwise, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 5, so as to hold idler22 away from the fill Wire and drive wheel. Tube 28 is cut away onopposite sides to accommodate the peripheries of drive wheel 26 andidler 22.

The inboard portion of tube 28 is longitudinally split, and the top halfis supported by arms 116, 118 pivoted in bearings 12%, 122 on an inboardextension 124 of casing 34, the lower half being stationary. A togglelever 126 is connected to arm 118 so that the upper half of the splittube can be clamped shut or open, the latter being for clean-out in caseof jam-up of the fill Wire.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, knife 3%) is on the free endof a lever 128 pivotally supported by a shaft 130 in bearing 130 on abracket 132 on the inboard endof casing extension 124. Pivoted at 134 tothe other end of lever 128 is a link 136 whose lower end is pivoted at138 to one end of a lever 140. Lever 146 is affixed on a rotatablysupported shaft 142. A tension sprlng 144 anchored at 145 on bracket 132is connected at 146 to the free end 148 of lever 14% so that, throughthis link and lever system, knife 30 is normally biased by spring 144clockwise upwardly to the FIG. 6 position. Also affixed on lever shaft142 is a cam 149 and on the lay bar assembly (not detailed) is a rod151). As the lay bar completes its lay stroke, rod engages cam 149 andswings further to the left from the FIG. 6 position, thereby swingingknife 30 down so as to chop off the fed fill wire and, as the lay barreturns to its'dotted line position, spring 144 swings lever 140clockwise until it engages stop screw 152 so that knife 3t? is raisedaway from the feed path of fill wire 16.

The invention is not limited to the details shown and described, but isintended to cover all substitutions, modifications and equivalentswithin the scope of the following claims;

I claim:

1. In a strand feeding device including a support, a feed Wheel havingan annular strand-driving surface, means rotatably mounting said feedwheel on said support, infeed guide means on said support for guiding astrand from a source of supply substantially tangentially of and towardssaid surface, outfeed guide means on said support for guiding saidstrand substantially tangentially of and away from said surface, back-upmeans on said sup- 'port for pressing said strand against said surface,and drive means for said feed wheel comprising: a lever, means mountingsaid lever on said support for oscillation about a first axis, arotating driving member, means mounting said drivingfmember onsaidsupport for rotation about a second axis, said driving member havinga crank pin engaging said lever for oscillating said lever about saidfirst axis, means for adjusting the radial'position of said crank pin.with respect to the second axis, whereby the length of stroke of thelever for each rotation of the driving member may be adjusted, aquadrant gear on said lever, a pinion rotatably mounted on said supportand meshing with said quadrant gear whereby said pinion rotates in onedirection by a forward stroke of the lever and in an opposite directionby a return stroke of the lever, a drive train including a one-wayclutch having an input member connected to the pinion and an outputmember connected to the feed wheel for driving the feed wheel with theforward stroke of the lever, a brake connected between the support andthe drive train between the clutch and the feed wheel, and meansactuated by the drive member for setting the brake during a finalportion of the drive stroke and the return stroke of the lever.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1, said brake including anelectro-magnetic setting mechanism, the means actuated by said drivemember including an energizing circuit for said electromagnetic settingmechanism, a switch in said energizing circuit, and cam means rotatingwith said driving member engaging said switch for closing the sameduring substantially 270 of rotation of said driving member and foropening the same during substantially the next 90 of rotation of thedriving member.

3. In a strand feeding device including a rotatable feed wheel having anannular strand driving surface, a one- Way intermittent drive mechanismfor said feed wheel, comprising: a pinion, an oscillating lever having agear on a free end thereof meshing with said pinion for alternatelyrotating the latter in first and second opposite directions respectivelyupon feed and return stroke oscillatory movement of said lever, a drivetrain connecting said pinion and said drive wheel, said drive trainincluding a one-way clutch engaging upon rotation of the pinion in saidfirst direction whereby to rotate said drive train a number of degreesin one direction, said clutch disengaging upon rotation of the pinion insaid second direction, drive means including a stroke-length adjustingmechanism for oscillating said lever, whereby the number of degrees ofrotation of said drive wheel may be varied, a magnetic brake engageablewith said drive train for preventingrotation thereof opposite to saidone direction, electric circuit means for energizing said magneticbrake, said circuit means including a switch for opening and closing thesame, and means moving with said lever for closing said switchthroughout a latter portion of the feed stroke movement of said leverand during the return stroke movement of the lever, the last-named meansoperating to open the switch throughout an initial portion of the feedstroke movement of the lever. 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS907,946 A-rrouquier Dec. 29, 1908 1,555,067 Metcalf Sept. 29, 19251,594,600 Carlson Aug. 3, 1926 2,528,881 Harter Nov. 7, 1950 2,990,722Malmberg July 4, 1961 2,998,760 Allen Sept. 5, 1961

1. A STRAND FEEDING DEVICE INCLUDING A SUPPORT, A FEED WHEEL HAVING ANANNULAR STRAND-DRIVING SURFACE, MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTING SAID FEED WHEELON SAID SUPPORT, INFEED GUIDE MEANS ON SAID SUPPORT FOR GUIDING A STRANDFROM A SOURCE OF SUPPLY SUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIALLY OF AND TOWARDS SAIDSURFACE, OUTFEED GUIDE MEANS ON SAID SUPPORT FOR GUIDING SAID STRANDSUBSTANTIALLY TANGENTIALLY OF AND AWAY FROM SAID SURFACE, BACK-UP MEANSON SAID SUPPORT FOR PRESSING SAID STRAND AGAINST SAID SURFACE, AND DRIVEMEANS FOR SAID FEED WHEEL COMPRISING: A LEVER, MEANS MOUNTING SAID LEVERON SAID SUPPORT FOR OSCILLATION ABOUT A FIRST AXIS, A ROTATING DRIVINGMEMBER, MEANS MOUNTING SAID DRIVING MEMBER ON SAID SUPPORT FOR ROTATIONABOUT A SECOND AXIS, SAID DRIVING MEMBER HAVING A CRANK PIN ENGAGINGSAID LEVER FOR OSCILLATING SAID LEVER ABOUT SAID FIRST AXIS, MEANS FORADJUSTING THE RADIAL POSITION OF SAID CRANK PIN WITH RESPECT TO THESECOND AXIS, WHEREBY THE LENGTH OF STROKE OF THE LEVER FOR EACH ROTATIONOF DRIVING MEMBER MAY BE ADJUSTED, A QUADRANT GEAR ON SAID LEVER, APINION ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT AND MESHING WITH SAID QUADRANTGEAR WHEREBY SAID PINION ROTATES IN ONE DIRECTION BY A FORWARD STROKE OFTHE LEVER AND IN AN OPPOSITE DIRECTION BY A RETURN STROKE OF THE LEVER,A DRIVE TRAIN INCLUDING A ONE-WAY CLUTCH HAVING AN INPUT MEMBERCONNECTED TO THE PINION AND AN OUTPUT MEMBER CONNECTED TO THE FEED WHEELFOR DRIVING THE FEED WHEEL WITH THE FORWARD STROKE OF THE LEVER, A BRAKECONNECTED BETWEEN THE SUPPORT AND THE DRIVE TRAIN BETWEEN THE CLUTCH ANDTHE FEED WHEEL, AND MEANS ACTUATED BY THE DRIVE MEMBER FOR SETTING THEBRAKE DURING A FINAL PORTION OF THE DRIVE STROKE AND THE RETURN STROKEOF THE LEVER.